Pepper hybrid SVPB6883 and parents thereof

ABSTRACT

The invention provides seed and plants of pepper hybrid SVPB6883 and inbred parent line SBO8T14-6292. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds, and tissue cultures of pepper hybrid SVPB6883 and inbred parent line SBO8T14-6292 and to methods for producing a pepper plant produced by crossing such plants with themselves or with another pepper plant, such as a plant of another genotype. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of such plants, including the fruit and gametes of such plants.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, morespecifically, to the development of pepper hybrid SVPB6883 and inbredpepper line SBO8T14-6292.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits ina single variety/hybrid. Such desirable traits may include any traitdeemed beneficial by a grower and/or consumer, including greater yield,resistance to insects and pathogens, tolerance to environmental stress,and nutritional value.

Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates ifpollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower ofthe same plant or plant variety. A plant cross-pollinates if pollencomes to it from a flower of a different plant variety.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type over manygenerations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce auniform population of true breeding progeny, a homozygous plant. A crossbetween two such homozygous plants of different genotypes produces auniform population of hybrid plants that are heterozygous for many geneloci. Conversely, a cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number ofloci produces a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically andare not uniform. The resulting non-uniformity makes performanceunpredictable.

The development of uniform varieties requires the development ofhomozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants, and theevaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection areexamples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbredplants from breeding populations. Those breeding methods combine thegenetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-basedsources into breeding pools from which new lines and hybrids derivedtherefrom are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes.The new lines and hybrids are evaluated to determine which of those havecommercial potential.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention provides a pepper plant of thehybrid designated SVPB6883 or the pepper line SBO8T14-6292. Alsoprovided are pepper plants having all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of such a plant. Parts of these pepperplants are also provided, for example, including pollen, an ovule,scion, a rootstock, a fruit, and a cell of the plant.

In another aspect of the invention, a plant of pepper hybrid SVPB6883and/or pepper line SBO8T14-6292 comprising an added heritable trait isprovided. The heritable trait may comprise a genetic locus that is, forexample, a dominant or recessive allele. In one embodiment of theinvention, a plant of pepper hybrid SVPB6883 and/or pepper lineSBO8T14-6292 is defined as comprising a single locus conversion. Inspecific embodiments of the invention, an added genetic locus confersone or more traits such as, for example, herbicide tolerance, insectresistance, disease resistance, and modified carbohydrate metabolism. Infurther embodiments, the trait may be conferred by a naturally occurringgene introduced into the genome of a line by backcrossing, a natural orinduced mutation, or a transgene introduced through genetictransformation techniques into the plant or a progenitor of any previousgeneration thereof. When introduced through transformation, a geneticlocus may comprise one or more genes integrated at a single chromosomallocation.

The invention also concerns the seed of pepper hybrid SVPB6883 and/orpepper line SBO8T14-6292. The pepper seed of the invention may beprovided as an essentially homogeneous population of pepper seed ofpepper hybrid SVPB6883 and/or pepper line SBO8T14-6292. Essentiallyhomogeneous populations of seed are generally free from substantialnumbers of other seed. Therefore, in some embodiments, seed of hybridSVPB6883 and/or pepper line SBO8T14-6292 may be defined as forming atleast about 97% of the total seed, including at least about 98%, 99% ormore of the seed. The seed population may be separately grown to providean essentially homogeneous population of pepper plants designatedSVPB6883 and/or pepper line SBO8T14-6292.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a tissue culture of regenerablecells of a pepper plant of hybrid SVPB6883 and/or pepper lineSBO8T14-6292 is provided. The tissue culture will preferably be capableof regenerating pepper plants capable of expressing all of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of the starting plant,and of regenerating plants having substantially the same genotype as thestarting plant. Examples of some of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of the hybrid SVPB6883 and/or pepper line SBO8T14-6292include those traits set forth in the tables herein. The regenerablecells in such tissue cultures may be derived, for example, from embryos,meristems, cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips,pistils, flowers, seed and stalks. Still further, the present inventionprovides pepper plants regenerated from a tissue culture of theinvention, the plants having all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of hybrid SVPB6883 and/or pepper line SBO8T14-6292.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, processes are provided forproducing pepper seeds, plants, and fruit, which processes generallycomprise crossing a first parent pepper plant with a second parentpepper plant, wherein at least one of the first or second parent pepperplants is a plant of pepper line SBO8T14-6292. These processes may befurther exemplified as processes for preparing hybrid pepper seed orplants, wherein a first pepper plant is crossed with a second pepperplant of a different, distinct genotype to provide a hybrid that has asone of its parents a plant of pepper line SBO8T14-6292. In theseprocesses, crossing will result in the production of seed. The seedproduction occurs regardless of whether the seed is collected or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first step in “crossing”comprises planting seeds of a first and second parent pepper plant,often in proximity so that pollination will occur for example, mediatedby insect vectors. Alternatively, pollen can be transferred manually.Where the plant is self-pollinated, pollination may occur without theneed for direct human intervention other than plant cultivation.

A second step may comprise cultivating or growing the seeds of first andsecond parent pepper plants into plants that bear flowers. A third stepmay comprise preventing self-pollination of the plants, such as byemasculating the flowers (i.e., killing or removing the pollen).

A fourth step for a hybrid cross may comprise cross-pollination betweenthe first and second parent pepper plants. Yet another step comprisesharvesting the seeds from at least one of the parent pepper plants. Theharvested seed can be grown to produce a pepper plant or hybrid pepperplant.

The present invention also provides the pepper seeds and plants producedby a process that comprises crossing a first parent pepper plant with asecond parent pepper plant, wherein at least one of the first or secondparent pepper plants is a plant of pepper hybrid SVPB6883 and/or pepperline SBO8T14-6292. In one embodiment of the invention, pepper seed andplants produced by the process are first generation (F₁) hybrid pepperseed and plants produced by crossing a plant in accordance with theinvention with another, distinct plant. The present invention furthercontemplates plant parts of such an F₁ hybrid pepper plant, and methodsof use thereof. Therefore, certain exemplary embodiments of theinvention provide an F₁ hybrid pepper plant and seed thereof.

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method ofproducing a plant derived from hybrid SVPB6883 and/or pepper lineSBO8T14-6292, the method comprising the steps of: (a) preparing aprogeny plant derived from hybrid SVPB6883 and/or pepper lineSBO8T14-6292, wherein said preparing comprises crossing a plant of thehybrid SVPB6883 and/or pepper line SBO8T14-6292 with a second plant; and(b) crossing the progeny plant with itself or a second plant to producea seed of a progeny plant of a subsequent generation. In furtherembodiments, the method may additionally comprise: (c) growing a progenyplant of a subsequent generation from said seed of a progeny plant of asubsequent generation and crossing the progeny plant of a subsequentgeneration with itself or a second plant; and repeating the steps for anadditional 3-10 generations to produce a plant derived from hybridSVPB6883 and/or pepper line SBO8T14-6292. The plant derived from hybridSVPB6883 and/or pepper line SBO8T14-6292 may be an inbred line, and theaforementioned repeated crossing steps may be defined as comprisingsufficient inbreeding to produce the inbred line. In the method, it maybe desirable to select particular plants resulting from step (c) forcontinued crossing according to steps (b) and (c). By selecting plantshaving one or more desirable traits, a plant derived from hybridSVPB6883 and/or pepper line SBO8T14-6292 is obtained which possessessome of the desirable traits of the line/hybrid as well as potentiallyother selected traits.

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method ofproducing food or feed comprising: (a) obtaining a plant of pepperhybrid SVPB6883 and/or pepper line SBO8T14-6292, wherein the plant hasbeen cultivated to maturity, and (b) collecting at least one pepper fromthe plant.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, the genetic complement ofpepper hybrid SVPB6883 and/or pepper line SBO8T14-6292 is provided. Thephrase “genetic complement” is used to refer to the aggregate ofnucleotide sequences, the expression of which sequences defines thephenotype of, in the present case, a pepper plant, or a cell or tissueof that plant. A genetic complement thus represents the genetic makeupof a cell, tissue or plant, and a hybrid genetic complement representsthe genetic make-up of a hybrid cell, tissue or plant. The inventionthus provides pepper plant cells that have a genetic complement inaccordance with the pepper plant cells disclosed herein, and seeds andplants containing such cells.

Plant genetic complements may be assessed by genetic marker profiles,and by the expression of phenotypic traits that are characteristic ofthe expression of the genetic complement, e.g., isozyme typing profiles.It is understood that hybrid SVPB6883 and/or pepper line SBO8T14-6292could be identified by any of the many well-known techniques such as,for example, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms (SSLPs) (Williams etal., Nucleic Acids Res., 1 8:6531-6535, 1990), Randomly AmplifiedPolymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNA Amplification Fingerprinting (DAF),Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs), Arbitrary PrimedPolymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), Amplified Fragment LengthPolymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858, specifically incorporated herein byreference in its entirety), and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs)(Wang et al., Science, 280:1077-1082, 1998).

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides hybridgenetic complements, as represented by pepper plant cells, tissues,plants, and seeds, formed by the combination of a haploid geneticcomplement of a pepper plant of the invention with a haploid geneticcomplement of a second pepper plant, preferably, another, distinctpepper plant. In another aspect, the present invention provides a pepperplant regenerated from a tissue culture that comprises a hybrid geneticcomplement of this invention.

Any embodiment discussed herein with respect to one aspect of theinvention applies to other aspects of the invention as well, unlessspecifically noted.

The term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the standarddeviation of the mean for the device or method being employed todetermine the value. The use of the term “or” in the claims is used tomean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives onlyor the alternatives are mutually exclusive. When used in conjunctionwith the word “comprising” or other open language in the claims, thewords “a” and “an” denote “one or more,” unless specifically notedotherwise. The terms “comprise,” “have” and “include” are open-endedlinking verbs. Any forms or tenses of one or more of these verbs, suchas “comprises,” “comprising,” “has,” “having,” “includes” and“including,” are also open-ended. For example, any method that“comprises,” “has” or “includes” one or more steps is not limited topossessing only those one or more steps and also covers other unlistedsteps. Similarly, any plant that “comprises,” “has” or “includes” one ormore traits is not limited to possessing only those one or more traitsand covers other unlisted traits.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and any specificexamples provided, while indicating specific embodiments of theinvention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changesand modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from this detaileddescription.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants,seeds and derivatives of pepper hybrid SVPB6883 and pepper lineSBO8T14-6292.

Pepper hybrid SVPB6883, also known as 14-8T-BLK-6269, is anorange-fruited sweet bell pepper variety characterized by a compact,short internode plant with early fruit-set followed by continualproduction through a long season as is frequently encountered in Sinaloastate in northwestern Mexico. The variety is homozygous for the L4 geneconferring resistance to Tobamovirus pathotypes P0-4 and heterozygousfor the Bs3 gene conferring resistance to Xanthomonas campestris pv.Vesicatoria races 0, 1, 4, 7, and 9, and the SW gene conferringresistance to Tomato spotted wilt virus.

Pepper line SBO8T14-6292 is an inbred breeding variety characterized byprolific fruit-setting, short internodes, and a high tendency for blockyfour-lobed fruits. Fruits ripen quickly from green to orange.

Pepper line SBO-28-1272 is an inbred breeding variety characterized by atall, continuous-setting plant with medium/long internodes. Fruits ripenquickly from green to orange. SBO-28-1272 comprises the L4 resistancegene and resistance to Potato virus Y pathotype 0.

A. Origin and Breeding History of Pepper Hybrid SVPB6883

The parents of pepper hybrid SVPB6883 are pepper lines SBO8T14-6292 andSBO-28-1272. The parent lines are uniform and stable, as is a hybridproduced therefrom. A small percentage of variants can occur withincommercially acceptable limits for almost any characteristic during thecourse of repeated multiplication. However no variants are expected.

B. Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Pepper HybridSVPB6883 and Pepper Line SBO8T14-6292

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of pepper hybrid SVPB6883 and the parent lineSBO8T14-6292. A description of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of said plant is presented in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Pepper HybridSVPB6883 and Pepper Line SBO8T14-6292 Variety Name SVPB6883 SBO8T14-6292Early Cal Wonder Designation hybrid parent check variety Type sweetsweet sweet Species C. annuum C. annuum C. annuum Plant habit compactcompact semi-spreading attitude semi-upright/ semi-upright/semi-upright/ semi-erect semi-erect semi-erect height (cm) 51.27 46.3939.77 width (cm) 49.00 45.23 47.19 length of stem from cotyledon tofirst flower (cm) 12.97 13.77 12.72 length of third internode from soilsurface (mm) 70.27 75.53 74.60 stem length medium medium medium lengthof internode (varieties without shortened medium medium mediuminternodes, on primary side shoots) hairiness of stem nodes weak mediumabsent or very weak height medium medium short basal branches none nonefew (2-3) branch flexibility willowy willowy willowy stem strength(breakage resistance) strong strong strong Leaf blade length long longmedium blade width broad broad medium width (mm) 65.93 71.33 49.67length (mm) 123.43 136.21 111.79 petiole length (mm) 43.47 44.53 32.60color dark green dark green medium green color (RHS Color Chart value)147A 147A 137A mature shape ovate ovate ovate pubescence of leaf andstem light absent light undulation of margin strong strong weakblistering strong strong weak profile in cross section moderatelyconcave moderately concave moderately concave glossiness medium mediumweak Flower peduncle attitude erect erect erect number of flowers perleaf axil 1.00 1.00 1.00 number of calyx lobes 7.07 6.87 6.67 number ofpetals 6.87 7.07 7.00 diameter (mm) 26.67 22.33 22.87 corolla colorwhite white white corolla throat markings color yellow yellow yellowanther color purple yellow yellow style length less than stamen same asstamen less than stamen self-incompatibility absent absent absent Fruitcolor before maturity green green green intensity medium medium mediumimmature color medium green medium green medium green immature color(RHS Color Chart value) 144A 146B 146A attitude/positiondrooping/pendant horizontal drooping/ pendant length medium mediummedium diameter broad broad broad ratio of length/diameter small smallsmall calyx diameter (mm) 31.02 26.67 30.12 length (mm) 76.23 60.8765.41 diameter at calyx attachment (mm) 67.94 60.47 64.77 diameter atmid-point (mm) 69.36 61.10 69.98 flesh thickness at mid-point (mm) 4.093.29 4.93 number of fruits per plant 12.47 16.47 8.80 mass (g) 114.0067.80 97.67 shape (longitudinal section) square square square shape(cross section, level of placenta) angular/tri-angularangular/tri-angular quad-rangular sinuation of pericarp (basal part)weak absent or very weak medium sinuation of pericarp (excluding basalpart) weak absent or very weak medium surface texture slightly wrinkledsmooth or very slightly slightly wrinkled wrinkled surface smoothnesssmooth smooth smooth mature color orange orange red intensity darkmedium dark mature color (RHS Color Chart value) N25A N30B 45Aglossiness strong strong medium/moderate stalk cavity present absentpresent depth of stalk cavity medium shallow medium pedicel length (mm)34.73 45.40 24.40 pedicel thickness (mm) 6.77 5.92 7.39 pedicel shapecurved curved curved pedicel cavity present present present depth ofpedicel cavity (mm) 14.25 7.95 13.97 stalk length medium medium shortstalk thickness medium thick medium base shape cupped cupped cuppedshape Bell Bell Bell set concentrated concentrated concentrated depth ofinterloculary grooves shallow medium medium number of loculespredominately predominately equally three three four or more and fourpercentage with one locule 0 0 0 percentage with two locules 13.3 0 0percentage with three locules 53.3 26.7 46.7 percentage with fourlocules 26.7 73.3 46.7 percentage with five or more locules 6.7 0 6.60average number of locules 3.27 3.73 3.60 thickness of flesh mediummedium medium calyx aspect non-enveloping non-enveloping non-envelopingpungency sweet sweet sweet capsaicin in placenta absent absent absentflavor strong moderate moderate pepper pepper flavor pepper flavorflavor glossiness shiny shiny moderate seed cavity length (mm) 58.0749.58 51.10 seed cavity diameter (mm) 62.65 51.63 59.31 placenta length(mm) 20.41 18.19 19.87 number of seeds per fruit 115.93 53.60 44.20grams per 1,000 seeds 4.73 5.22 4.46 seed color yellow yellow yellowAnthocyanin coloration hypocotyl moderate moderate moderate stem absentabsent absent nodes strong strong moderate leaf weak weak absent pedicelmoderate weak absent calyx absent absent absent anther present presentpresent fruit weak absent absent Maturity transplanting until maturegreen stage (days) 63 55 74 transplanting until mature red or yellowstage (days) 80 72 83 direct seeding until mature green stage (days) 111103 122 direct seeding until mature red or yellow stage (days) 128 120131 beginning flowering (first flower on second flowering early earlymedium node) time of maturity medium early medium These are typicalvalues. Values may vary due to environment. Other values that aresubstantially equivalent are within the scope of the invention.

C. Breeding Pepper Plants

One aspect of the current invention concerns methods for producing seedof pepper hybrid SVPB6883 involving crossing pepper lines SBO8T14-6292and SBO-28-1272. Alternatively, in other embodiments of the invention,hybrid SVPB6883 or line SBO8T14-6292 may be crossed with itself or withany second plant. Such methods can be used for propagation of hybridSVPB6883 and/or the pepper line SBO8T14-6292, or can be used to produceplants that are derived from hybrid SVPB6883 and/or the pepper lineSBO8T14-6292. Plants derived from hybrid SVPB6883 and/or the pepper lineSBO8T14-6292 may be used, in certain embodiments, for the development ofnew pepper varieties.

The development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties iswell known in the art. In accordance with the invention, novel varietiesmay be created by crossing hybrid SVPB6883 followed by multiplegenerations of breeding according to such well-known methods. Newvarieties may be created by crossing with any second plant. In selectingsuch a second plant to cross for the purpose of developing novel lines,it may be desired to choose those plants which either themselves exhibitone or more selected desirable characteristics or which exhibit thedesired characteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Once initialcrosses have been made, inbreeding and selection take place to producenew varieties. For development of a uniform line, often five or moregenerations of selfing and selection are involved.

Uniform lines of new varieties may also be developed by way ofdouble-haploids. This technique allows the creation of true breedinglines without the need for multiple generations of selfing andselection. In this manner true breeding lines can be produced in aslittle as one generation. Haploid embryos may be produced frommicrospores, pollen, anther cultures, or ovary cultures. The haploidembryos may then be doubled autonomously, or by chemical treatments(e.g. colchicine treatment). Alternatively, haploid embryos may be growninto haploid plants and treated to induce chromosome doubling. In eithercase, fertile homozygous plants are obtained. In accordance with theinvention, any of such techniques may be used in connection with a plantof the invention and progeny thereof to achieve a homozygous line.

Backcrossing can also be used to improve an inbred plant. Backcrossingtransfers a specific desirable trait from one inbred or non-inbredsource to an inbred that lacks that trait. This can be accomplished, forexample, by first crossing a superior inbred (A) (recurrent parent) to adonor inbred (non-recurrent parent), which carries the appropriate locusor loci for the trait in question. The progeny of this cross are thenmated back to the superior recurrent parent (A) followed by selection inthe resultant progeny for the desired trait to be transferred from thenon-recurrent parent. After five or more backcross generations withselection for the desired trait, the progeny have the characteristicbeing transferred, but are like the superior parent for most or almostall other loci. The last backcross generation would be selfed to givepure breeding progeny for the trait being transferred.

The plants of the present invention are particularly well suited for thedevelopment of new lines based on the elite nature of the geneticbackground of the plants. In selecting a second plant to cross withSVPB6883 and/or pepper line SBO8T14-6292 for the purpose of developingnovel pepper lines, it will typically be preferred to choose thoseplants which either themselves exhibit one or more selected desirablecharacteristics or which exhibit the desired characteristic(s) when inhybrid combination. Examples of desirable traits may include, inspecific embodiments, high seed yield, high seed germination, seedlingvigor, high fruit yield, disease tolerance or resistance, adaptabilityfor soil and climate conditions, and delayed fruit ripening.Consumer-driven traits, such as a fruit shape, color, texture, and tasteare other examples of traits that may be incorporated into new lines ofpepper plants developed by this invention.

D. Further Embodiments of the Invention

In certain aspects of the invention, plants described herein areprovided modified to include at least a first desired heritable trait.Such plants may, in one embodiment, be developed by a plant breedingtechnique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to a genetic locus transferred into the plant viathe backcrossing technique. The term single locus converted plant asused herein refers to those pepper plants which are developed by a plantbreeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to the single locus transferred into the varietyvia the backcrossing technique. By essentially all of the morphologicaland physiological characteristics, it is meant that the characteristicsof a plant are recovered that are otherwise present when compared in thesame environment, other than an occasional variant trait that mightarise during backcrossing or direct introduction of a transgene.

Backcrossing methods can be used with the present invention to improveor introduce a characteristic into the present variety. The parentalpepper plant which contributes the locus for the desired characteristicis termed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. This terminology refers tothe fact that the nonrecurrent parent is used one time in the backcrossprotocol and therefore does not recur. The parental pepper plant towhich the locus or loci from the nonrecurrent parent are transferred isknown as the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in thebackcrossing protocol.

In a typical backcross protocol, the original variety of interest(recurrent parent) is crossed to a second variety (nonrecurrent parent)that carries the single locus of interest to be transferred. Theresulting progeny from this cross are then crossed again to therecurrent parent and the process is repeated until a pepper plant isobtained wherein essentially all of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered in the convertedplant, in addition to the single transferred locus from the nonrecurrentparent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalvariety. To accomplish this, a single locus of the recurrent variety ismodified or substituted with the desired locus from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphologicalconstitution of the original variety. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross; one ofthe major purposes is to add some commercially desirable trait to theplant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristicor trait being altered and the genetic distance between the recurrentand nonrecurrent parents. Although backcrossing methods are simplifiedwhen the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele, arecessive allele, or an additive allele (between recessive anddominant), may also be transferred. In this instance it may be necessaryto introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desiredcharacteristic has been successfully transferred.

In one embodiment, progeny pepper plants of a backcross in which a plantdescribed herein is the recurrent parent comprise (i) the desired traitfrom the non-recurrent parent and (ii) all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of pepper the recurrent parent asdetermined at the 5% significance level when grown in the sameenvironmental conditions.

New varieties can also be developed from more than two parents. Thetechnique, known as modified backcrossing, uses different recurrentparents during the backcrossing. Modified backcrossing may be used toreplace the original recurrent parent with a variety having certain moredesirable characteristics or multiple parents may be used to obtaindifferent desirable characteristics from each.

With the development of molecular markers associated with particulartraits, it is possible to add additional traits into an established germline, such as represented here, with the end result being substantiallythe same base germplasm with the addition of a new trait or traits.Molecular breeding, as described in Moose and Mumm, 2008 (PlantPhysiol., 147: 969-977), for example, and elsewhere, provides amechanism for integrating single or multiple traits or QTL into an eliteline. This molecular breeding-facilitated movement of a trait or traitsinto an elite line may encompass incorporation of a particular genomicfragment associated with a particular trait of interest into the eliteline by the mechanism of identification of the integrated genomicfragment with the use of flanking or associated marker assays. In theembodiment represented here, one, two, three or four genomic loci, forexample, may be integrated into an elite line via this methodology. Whenthis elite line containing the additional loci is further crossed withanother parental elite line to produce hybrid offspring, it is possibleto then incorporate at least eight separate additional loci into thehybrid. These additional loci may confer, for example, such traits as adisease resistance or a fruit quality trait. In one embodiment, eachlocus may confer a separate trait. In another embodiment, loci may needto be homozygous and exist in each parent line to confer a trait in thehybrid. In yet another embodiment, multiple loci may be combined toconfer a single robust phenotype of a desired trait.

Many single locus traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new inbred but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single locus traits may or may not betransgenic; examples of these traits include, but are not limited to,herbicide resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal, or viral disease,insect resistance, modified fatty acid or carbohydrate metabolism, andaltered nutritional quality. These comprise genes generally inheritedthrough the nucleus.

Direct selection may be applied where the single locus acts as adominant trait. For this selection process, the progeny of the initialcross are assayed for viral resistance and/or the presence of thecorresponding gene prior to the backcrossing. Selection eliminates anyplants that do not have the desired gene and resistance trait, and onlythose plants that have the trait are used in the subsequent backcross.This process is then repeated for all additional backcross generations.

Selection of pepper plants for breeding is not necessarily dependent onthe phenotype of a plant and instead can be based on geneticinvestigations. For example, one can utilize a suitable genetic markerwhich is closely genetically linked to a trait of interest. One of thesemarkers can be used to identify the presence or absence of a trait inthe offspring of a particular cross, and can be used in selection ofprogeny for continued breeding. This technique is commonly referred toas marker assisted selection. Any other type of genetic marker or otherassay which is able to identify the relative presence or absence of atrait of interest in a plant can also be useful for breeding purposes.Procedures for marker assisted selection are well known in the art. Suchmethods will be of particular utility in the case of recessive traitsand variable phenotypes, or where conventional assays may be moreexpensive, time consuming or otherwise disadvantageous. Types of geneticmarkers which could be used in accordance with the invention include,but are not necessarily limited to, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms(SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 1 8:6531-6535, 1990),Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNA AmplificationFingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs),Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), Amplified FragmentLength Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858, specifically incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety), and Single NucleotidePolymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science, 280:1077-1082, 1998).

E. Plants Derived by Genetic Engineering

Many useful traits that can be introduced by backcrossing, as well asdirectly into a plant, are those which are introduced by moleculargenetic methods. Such methods include, but are not limited to, variousplant transformation techniques and methods for site-specificrecombination, the use of which are well-known in the art, and include,for example, the CRISPR-Cas system, zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), andtranscription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), among others.

In one embodiment of the invention, genetic transformation may be usedto insert a selected transgene into a plant of the invention or may,alternatively, be used for the preparation of transgenes which can beintroduced by backcrossing. Methods for the transformation of plantsthat are well-known to those of skill in the art and applicable to manycrop species include, but are not limited to, electroporation,microprojectile bombardment, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, anddirect DNA uptake by protoplasts.

To effect transformation by electroporation, one may employ eitherfriable tissues, such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogeniccallus or alternatively one may transform immature embryos or otherorganized tissue directly. In this technique, one would partiallydegrade the cell walls of the chosen cells by exposing them topectin-degrading enzymes (pectolyases) or mechanically wound tissues ina controlled manner.

An efficient method for delivering transforming DNA segments to plantcells is microprojectile bombardment. In this method, particles arecoated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propellingforce. Exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten,platinum, and preferably, gold. For the bombardment, cells in suspensionare concentrated on filters or solid culture medium. Alternatively,immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culturemedium. The cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriatedistance below the macroprojectile stopping plate.

An illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering DNA into plantcells by acceleration is the Biolistics Particle Delivery System, whichcan be used to propel particles coated with DNA or cells through ascreen, such as a stainless steel or Nytex screen, onto a surfacecovered with target cells. The screen disperses the particles so thatthey are not delivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates.Microprojectile bombardment techniques are widely applicable, and may beused to transform virtually any plant species.

Agrobacterium-mediated transfer is another widely applicable system forintroducing gene loci into plant cells. An advantage of the technique isthat DNA can be introduced into whole plant tissues, thereby bypassingthe need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast. ModernAgrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in E.coli as well as Agrobacterium, allowing for convenient manipulations(Klee et al., Nat. Biotechnol., 3(7):637-642, 1985). Moreover, recenttechnological advances in vectors for Agrobacterium-mediated genetransfer have improved the arrangement of genes and restriction sites inthe vectors to facilitate the construction of vectors capable ofexpressing various polypeptide coding genes. The vectors described haveconvenient multi-linker regions flanked by a promoter and apolyadenylation site for direct expression of inserted polypeptidecoding genes. Additionally, Agrobacterium containing both armed anddisarmed Ti genes can be used for transformation.

In those plant strains where Agrobacterium-mediated transformation isefficient, it is the method of choice because of the facile and definednature of the gene locus transfer. The use of Agrobacterium-mediatedplant integrating vectors to introduce DNA into plant cells is wellknown in the art (Fraley et al., Nat. Biotechnol., 3:629-635, 1985; U.S.Pat. No. 5,563,055).

Transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methodsbased on calcium phosphate precipitation, polyethylene glycol treatment,electroporation, and combinations of these treatments (see, e.g.,Potrykus et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 199:183-188, 1985; Omirulleh et al.,Plant Mol. Biol., 21(3):415-428, 1993; Fromm et al., Nature,312:791-793, 1986; Uchimiya et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 204:204, 1986;Marcotte et al., Nature, 335:454, 1988). Transformation of plants andexpression of foreign genetic elements is exemplified in Choi et al.(Plant Cell Rep., 13:344-348, 1994) and Ellul et al. (Theon. Appl.Genet., 107:462-469, 2003).

A number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for anygene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers,scoreable markers, genes for pest tolerance, disease resistance,nutritional enhancements and any other gene of agronomic interest.Examples of constitutive promoters useful for plant gene expressioninclude, but are not limited to, the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV)P-35S promoter, which confers constitutive, high-level expression inmost plant tissues (see, e.g., Odel et al., Nature, 313:810, 1985),including in monocots (see, e.g., Dekeyser et al., Plant Cell, 2:591,1990; Terada and Shimamoto, Mol. Gen. Genet., 220:389, 1990); a tandemlyduplicated version of the CaMV 35S promoter, the enhanced 35S promoter(P-e35S); the nopaline synthase promoter (An et al., Plant Physiol.,88:547, 1988); the octopine synthase promoter (Fromm et al., Plant Cell,1:977, 1989); and the figwort mosaic virus (P-FMV) promoter as describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619 and an enhanced version of the FMV promoter(P-eFMV) where the promoter sequence of P-FMV is duplicated in tandem;the cauliflower mosaic virus 19S promoter; a sugarcane bacilliform viruspromoter; a commelina yellow mottle virus promoter; and other plant DNAvirus promoters known to express in plant cells.

A variety of plant gene promoters that are regulated in response toenvironmental, hormonal, chemical, and/or developmental signals can alsobe used for expression of an operably linked gene in plant cells,including promoters regulated by (1) heat (Callis et al., PlantPhysiol., 88:965, 1988), (2) light (e.g., pea rbcS-3A promoter,Kuhlemeier et al., Plant Cell, 1:471, 1989; maize rbcS promoter,Schaffner and Sheen, Plant Cell, 3:997, 1991; or chlorophyll a/b-bindingprotein promoter, Simpson et al., EMBO J., 4:2723, 1985), (3) hormones,such as abscisic acid (Marcotte et al., Plant Cell, 1:969, 1989), (4)wounding (e.g., wunl, Siebertz et al., Plant Cell, 1:961, 1989); or (5)chemicals such as methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, or Safener. It mayalso be advantageous to employ organ-specific promoters (e.g., Roshal etal., EMBO J., 6:1155, 1987; Schernthaner et al., EMBO J., 7:1249, 1988;Bustos et al., Plant Cell, 1:839, 1989).

Exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to plants of thisinvention include, for example, DNA sequences or genes from anotherspecies, or even genes or sequences which originate with or are presentin the same species, but are incorporated into recipient cells bygenetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction orbreeding techniques. However, the term “exogenous” is also intended torefer to genes that are not normally present in the cell beingtransformed, or perhaps simply not present in the form, structure, etc.,as found in the transforming DNA segment or gene, or genes which arenormally present and that one desires to express in a manner thatdiffers from the natural expression pattern, e.g., to over-express.Thus, the term “exogenous” gene or DNA is intended to refer to any geneor DNA segment that is introduced into a recipient cell, regardless ofwhether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell. The typeof DNA included in the exogenous DNA can include DNA which is alreadypresent in the plant cell, DNA from another plant, DNA from a differentorganism, or a DNA generated externally, such as a DNA sequencecontaining an antisense message of a gene, or a DNA sequence encoding asynthetic or modified version of a gene.

Many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and couldpotentially be introduced into a pepper plant according to theinvention. Non-limiting examples of particular genes and correspondingphenotypes one may choose to introduce into a pepper plant include oneor more genes for insect tolerance, such as a Bacillus thuringiensis(B.t.) gene, pest tolerance such as genes for fungal disease control,herbicide tolerance such as genes conferring glyphosate tolerance, andgenes for quality improvements such as yield, nutritional enhancements,environmental or stress tolerances, or any desirable changes in plantphysiology, growth, development, morphology or plant product(s). Forexample, structural genes would include any gene that confers insecttolerance including but not limited to a Bacillus insect control proteingene as described in WO 99/31248, herein incorporated by reference inits entirety, U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,052, herein incorporated by referencein its entirety, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,500,365 and 5,880,275, hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety. In another embodiment, thestructural gene can confer tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate asconferred by genes including, but not limited to Agrobacterium strainCP4 glyphosate resistant EPSPS gene (aroA:CP4) as described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,633,435, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, orglyphosate oxidoreductase gene (GOX) as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,463,175, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Alternatively, the DNA coding sequences can affect these phenotypes byencoding a non-translatable RNA molecule that causes the targetedinhibition of expression of an endogenous gene, for example viaantisense- or cosuppression-mediated mechanisms (see, for example, Birdet al., Biotech. Gen. Engin. Rev., 9:207, 1991). The RNA could also be acatalytic RNA molecule (i.e., a ribozyme) engineered to cleave a desiredendogenous mRNA product (see for example, Gibson and Shillito, Mol.Biotech., 7:125, 1997). Thus, any gene which produces a protein or mRNAwhich expresses a phenotype or morphology change of interest is usefulfor the practice of the present invention.

F. Definitions

In the description and tables herein, a number of terms are used. Inorder to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, the following definitions are provided:

Allele: Any of one or more alternative forms of a gene locus, all ofwhich alleles relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cellor organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding locion a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing: A process in which a breeder repeatedly crosses hybridprogeny, for example a first generation hybrid (F₁), back to one of theparents of the hybrid progeny. Backcrossing can be used to introduce oneor more single locus conversions from one genetic background intoanother.

Crossing: The mating of two parent plants.

Cross-Pollination: Fertilization by the union of two gametes fromdifferent plants.

Diploid: A cell or organism having two sets of chromosomes.

Emasculate: The removal of plant male sex organs or the inactivation ofthe organs with a cytoplasmic or nuclear genetic factor or a chemicalagent conferring male sterility.

Enzymes: Molecules which can act as catalysts in biological reactions.

F₁ Hybrid: The first generation progeny of the cross of two nonisogenicplants.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of a cell or organism.

Haploid: A cell or organism having one set of the two sets ofchromosomes in a diploid.

Linkage: A phenomenon wherein alleles on the same chromosome tend tosegregate together more often than expected by chance if theirtransmission was independent.

Marker: A readily detectable phenotype, preferably inherited incodominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in a diploid heterozygoteare readily detectable), with no environmental variance component, i.e.,heritability of 1.

Phenotype: The detectable characteristics of a cell or organism, whichcharacteristics are the manifestation of gene expression.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL): Quantitative trait loci (QTL) refer togenetic loci that control to some degree numerically representabletraits that are usually continuously distributed.

Resistance: As used herein, the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” areused interchangeably to describe plants that show no symptoms to aspecified biotic pest, pathogen, abiotic influence or environmentalcondition. These terms are also used to describe plants showing somesymptoms but that are still able to produce marketable product with anacceptable yield. Some plants that are referred to as resistant ortolerant are only so in the sense that they may still produce a crop,even though the plants are stunted and the yield is reduced.

Regeneration: The development of a plant from tissue culture.

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Color Chart Value: The RHS Color Chartis a standardized reference which allows accurate identification of anycolor. A color's designation on the chart describes its hue, brightnessand saturation. A color is precisely named by the RHS Color Chart byidentifying the group name, sheet number and letter, e.g., Yellow-OrangeGroup 19A or Red Group 41B.

Self-Pollination: The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigmaof the same plant.

Single Locus Converted (Conversion) Plant: Plants which are developed bya plant breeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially allof the morphological and physiological characteristics of a peppervariety are recovered in addition to the characteristics of the singlelocus transferred into the variety via the backcrossing technique and/orby genetic transformation.

Substantially Equivalent: A characteristic that, when compared, does notshow a statistically significant difference (e.g., p=0.05) from themean.

Tissue Culture: A composition comprising isolated cells of the same or adifferent type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of aplant.

Transgene: A genetic locus comprising a sequence which has beenintroduced into the genome of a pepper plant by transformation or sitespecific recombination.

G. Deposit Information

A deposit of pepper hybrid SVPB6883 and inbred parent line SBO8T14-6292,disclosed above and recited in the claims, has been made with theAmerican Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801 University Blvd.,Manassas, Va. 20110-2209. The date of deposit for pepper hybrid SVPB6883and inbred parent line SBO8T14-6292 was Dec. 5, 2017. The accessionnumbers for those deposited seeds of pepper hybrid SVPB6883 and inbredparent line SBO8T14-6292 are ATCC Accession Number PTA-124645 and ATCCAccession Number PTA-124646, respectively. Upon issuance of a patent,all restrictions upon the deposits will be removed, and the deposits areintended to meet all of the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §§ 1.801-1.809.The deposits will be maintained in the depository for a period of 30years, or 5 years after the last request, or for the effective life ofthe patent, whichever is longer, and will be replaced if necessaryduring that period.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity andunderstanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modificationsmay be practiced within the scope of the invention, as limited only bythe scope of the appended claims.

All references cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

What is claimed:
 1. A pepper plant comprising at least a first set ofthe chromosomes of pepper line SBO8T14-6292, a sample of seed of saidline having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-124646.
 2. Apepper seed that produces the plant of claim
 1. 3. The plant of claim 1,wherein the plant is a plant of said pepper line SBO8T14-6292.
 4. Theplant of claim 1, wherein the plant is a plant of pepper hybridSVPB6883, a sample of seed of said hybrid having been deposited underATCC Accession Number PTA-124645.
 5. The seed of claim 2, wherein theseed is a seed of said pepper line SBO8T14-6292.
 6. The seed of claim 2,wherein the seed is a seed of pepper hybrid SVPB6883, a sample of seedof said hybrid having been deposited under ATCC Accession NumberPTA-124645.
 7. A plant part of the plant of claim 1, wherein the plantpart comprises a cell of said plant.
 8. A pepper plant having all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of the plant of claim 1.9. A tissue culture of regenerable cells of the plant of claim 1,wherein at least one cell of said tissue culture comprises at least saidfirst set of chromosomes of pepper line SBO8T14-6292.
 10. A method ofvegetatively propagating the pepper plant of claim 1, the methodcomprising the steps of: (a) collecting tissue capable of beingpropagated from the plant of claim 1; and (b) propagating a pepper plantfrom said tissue.
 11. A method of introducing a trait into a pepperline, the method comprising: (a) utilizing as a recurrent parent theplant according to claim 1 by crossing said plant with a donor pepperplant that comprises a trait to produce F₁ progeny; (b) selecting an F₁progeny that comprises the trait; (c) backcrossing the selected F₁progeny with a plant of the same pepper line used as the recurrentparent in step (a) to produce backcross progeny; (d) selecting abackcross progeny comprising the trait and the morphological andphysiological characteristics of the recurrent parent pepper line usedin step (a); and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) three or more times toproduce a selected fourth or higher backcross progeny.
 12. A pepperplant produced by the method of claim
 11. 13. A method of producing apepper plant comprising an added trait, the method comprisingintroducing a transgene conferring the trait into the plant of claim 1.14. A pepper plant produced by the method of claim
 13. 15. A pepperplant comprising at least a first set of the chromosomes of pepper lineSBO8T14-6292, a sample of seed of said line having been deposited underATCC Accession Number PTA-124646, further comprising a transgene. 16.The plant of claim 15, wherein the transgene confers a trait selectedfrom the group consisting of male sterility, herbicide tolerance, insectresistance, pest resistance, disease resistance, modified fatty acidmetabolism, environmental stress tolerance, modified carbohydratemetabolism, and modified protein metabolism.
 17. A pepper plantcomprising at least a first set of the chromosomes of pepper lineSBO8T14-6292, a sample of seed of said line having been deposited underATCC Accession Number PTA-124646, further comprising a single locusconversion.
 18. The plant of claim 17, wherein the single locusconversion confers a trait selected from the group consisting of malesterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance,disease resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism, environmental stresstolerance, modified carbohydrate metabolism, and modified proteinmetabolism.
 19. A method for producing a seed of a pepper plant derivedfrom at least one of pepper hybrid SVPB6883 or pepper line SBO8T14-6292,the method comprising the steps of: (a) crossing the pepper plant ofclaim 1 with itself or a second pepper plant; and (b) allowing seed of ahybrid SVPB6883 or line SBO8T14-6292-derived pepper plant to form.
 20. Amethod of producing a seed of a hybrid SVPB6883 or lineSBO8T14-6292-derived pepper plant, the method comprising the steps of:(a) producing a hybrid SVPB6883 or line SBO8T14-6292-derived pepperplant from a seed produced by crossing the pepper plant of claim 1 withitself or a second pepper plant; and (b) crossing the hybrid SVPB6883 orline SBO8T14-6292-derived pepper plant with itself or a different pepperplant to obtain a seed of a further hybrid SVPB6883 or lineSBO8T14-6292-derived pepper plant.
 21. The method of claim 20, themethod further comprising repeating said producing and crossing steps of(a) and (b) using the seed from said step (b) for producing a plantaccording to step (a) for at least one generation to produce a seed ofan additional hybrid SVPB6883 or line SBO8T14-6292-derived pepper plant.22. A method of producing a pepper fruit, the method comprising: (a)obtaining the plant of claim 1, wherein the plant has been cultivated tomaturity; and (b) collecting a pepper fruit from the plant.